A Shattered Heart Reborn
by MyOwnMione
Summary: Hermione is shaken up from the war and she doesn't know that the hurt in her eyes is tearing Fred apart. Will they realize the only way to become themselves again is to find love and comfort in each other?
1. Helping Hermione

**Chapter 1: Helping Hermione**

**Author's Note: I do _not_ own the rights to this. The rights to Harry Potter are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling! ****  
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><p><em>The war took a tole on everyone; losing so many friends is not an easy situation, but at least the Weasley family was still in tact, and Hermione, Harry, and Luna were always there.<em>

Curled up in a blanket, on a chair facing out the window of Hermione and Ginny's shared room, Hermione sat staring out into the woods, off in her own world again. This was the only way she knew how to cope. Her frizzy brown hair lay haphazardly across her shoulders and down her back, her eyes not moving an inch from the branch in which the nightmare she was reliving in her mind was taking place. The war had been over for almost three weeks, yet she had barely moved, barely spoken to anyone, and everyone acknowledged her wishes and gave her space.

After the war, Mrs. Weasley would kindly bring up a plate of warm dinner to Hermione, other than that she would not eat. Mrs. Weasley knew that the war had taken a huge tole on everyone, but to end it without her own family to return to must have been excruciatingly tough. After a week or so, when she finally felt comfortable enough to emerge from her room, she would go down to dinner, but meal times were uneasily quiet for the Weasley household; no one was completely back to themselves quite yet. Other than the occasional dinner, Hermione never left her seat in front of the window. It was a Thursday, late in May, that Ginny had decided to ease her friend back into interacting with others again. She knew how shaken up she was, though, so she visited her by herself for the next week and a half, bringing her hot chocolate and sugar cookies from time to time.

She had been making progress, and Hermione could tell that it was in her best interest, so she tried as hard as she could to not be stubborn, even though all she wanted was to curl up in front of that same window and drift off into her own world again, or to curl up on her bed, underneath twelve blankets, and read until the words blurred together. Ginny convinced Hermione to accompany her to the living room for a game of Exploding Snap while the boys were out playing Quidditch. Luna was also out, looking for Nargles as usual, and her parents were out shopping in Diagon Alley for some new cauldrons and robes. Hermione agreed. She enjoyed Ginny's company; she liked how they could talk about almost anything and it would not be awkward or annoying. Hermione always wanted brothers and sisters, and Ginny was as close to a sister as she was going to get.

While playing Exploding Snap in the middle of the living room, the both of them wrapped snugly in their comforters and quilts, the fire crackling in the brick fireplace behind them, they spoke of their usual topics: school, boys, and the war. Although it was only May, they could not return to Hogwarts for the last term as the building was destroyed. And to Hermione's astonishment, a great deal of witches and wizards in their year have specified that they are not returning for their final year in September. As far as Hermione knew, she was going back. She enjoyed school. It was one of the few places where she got to excel and be her own person. She had decided on going even though her best friends, Harry and Ron, said that they doubted they were heading back. Ginny, being a year younger, stated that she is returning, and although she was worried that might inconvenience her relationship with Harry, they both agreed that returning next year is the best thing for her. Ginny and Harry's relationship has been going strong; whenever she was not trying to convince Hermione to leave the comfort of her room, she was off snogging, or talking about snogging, Harry. Hermione was quite used to this by now but it did not in any way make her feel any better. Although Ron had shared what he thought was a "passionate kiss" with her amidst the battle, she unfortunately did not feel a any connection, therefore avoiding him like the plague when she could, _Just another reason to stay in my room!_ She thought. It's not that she didn't love Ron, she did! Just not in _that_ way; she loved him like she would love a brother, like she loved Harry. She only wished he felt the same.

Halfway through a game, Hermione on edge from the last three turns of cards exploding in her face, the boys barrelled in from the cold to warm up by the fire. Hermione was just starting to enjoy herself when her mind forced her back into wanting solitude more than ever. As the boys clamoured in, she wrapped her blanket in tighter around her body in an attempt to escape from reality once again. Ginny noticed a familiar wall starting to form around of Hermione's mind. This pissed her off. She wasn't mad at Hermione, but at her brothers and even Harry for wrecking her progress; she just wanted her friend to stay with her, to communicate with her since she didn't have anyone else when Luna wandered off, which was often.

"Erg! Bill! Charlie! Fred! George! Ron! Harry! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Ginny was furious now. She felt bad for yelling at Harry, but she was mad that he hadn't noticed that she'd actually gotten Hermione to come downstairs for another reason than dinner in over a month!

"Hey, there's no need to get mad..." Charlie attempted, though the looks from both Ginny and his brothers showed him that attempting to rationalize in this situation would not work out very well.

Fred, however, did not have any sign of annoyance towards Charlie's comment.

"Yeah, we're just in here to warm up. It's cold enough to freeze the fire from a Hungarian Horn Tail out there! And besides, we wanted to see our favourite little sister!" Fred said smoothly as he tapped Ginny on her freckled nose.

Ginny's mouth couldn't help but turn up at the sides a little. When her brother acted like this it was extremely difficult to be mad. The only reason that her face returned to a frown was because she glanced over to witness Hermione's take on the situation when she noticed the corner of her blanket sweep past the doorway and disappear. She was gone back to her room. _I'll have to start all over again!_

"What's wrong, Gin?" asked George, the smile of seeing his brother suck up to his little sister slowly vanishing from his face.

Ginny unclenched her fists, and plopped down on her pillow on the floor with a big sigh and pointed to the now empty pillow across from her.

"She's gone. She's alone again and it's all your fault." For a moment there, Ginny had sworn she actually saw meaningful hurt flash across Fred's face as he looked past the crowd of people standing behind him to the entrance to the corridor.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_


	2. Turning Red

**Chapter 2: Turning Red**

****Author's Note: I do _not_ own the rights to this. The rights to Harry Potter are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling! ****

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><p>Hermione closed the door gently behind herself, hoping no one heard or saw her escape. She was actually enjoying herself just before everyone had barged in. She would never blame them for her mood swing, though. Images kept flashing in front of her eyes; visions of the battle, the explosions, the curses, the bodies. She had to watch her friends die. This wasn't something she could deal with lightly due to the fact that her brain thought it wise to reenact scenes without her consent. When all of the boys innocently rushed in to warm up by the crackling fire, all Hermione could think of were the people, pushing and shoving, either to run away from an attack from the death eaters, or to pursue someone themselves. She always tried to overcome the images, but she was not strong enough, not mentally nor physically.<p>

She settled herself down, after a moment of pacing, attempting to rid herself of those horrid thoughts, into the seat at her desk. After a while of coping with trial and error, she found that rereading Hogwarts: A History was the best medicine. She opened it to page 356, Dragons and Other Fire-Breathing Creatures. She must have read this at least 200 times! Sitting there, attempting to read, but in reality reciting what she had previously memorized, her thoughts of the battle of Hogwarts vanished. She was reminded of Hagrid every time she revisited those pages; the fact that he wanted and loved such strange and captivating creatures always made Hermione's heart glow. She missed him tremendously and could not wait to join him again at Hogwarts in September.

A half hour must have passed before she decided to get up from her spot. Unsure what to do, and feeling strangely tired, she turned and flopped onto her bed, snuggling under the blankets and into the warmth.

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><p>Everybody was trickling out of the room leaving Fred, George and Ginny to sit and stare at the ceiling.<p>

There was a long pause.

"Well, isn't this a blast! I'm so glad that you suggested to come inside Forge..." George commented sarcastically.

Fred rolled his eyes, "Gred, you suggested that! You blast ended skrewt!"

At that they both cracked up laughing. "Oh yeah! But who am I supposed to blame? Ginny was already inside and I definitely wasn't going to blame myself!"

The wave of laughter subsided and the twins looked over at Ginny; George was hoping he'd made her a bit happier with trying to lift the tension in the air. Unfortunately Ginny seemed to have barely noticed their presence; she was staring off into the direction of their family photo on the mantlepiece. She was trying to create a plan to speed up the process of getting Hermione out of her room and it took her a moment to notice Fred and George waving their arms wildly in front of her face.

"Earth to Ginny!" They said in sync.

Her eyelids fluttered and she turned in their direction.

"Dreaming about snogging Harry again, eh?" said George with a snicker as Fred made kissing noises.

Ginny rolled her eyes and gave a little smirk, "I know that's what you do in your spare time, but I don't do that." she said as she crossed her arms.

Fred and George put on bewildered looks,

"Did our sister,"

"Actually just,"

"Direct a decent comeback,"

"At us?" They finished together.

Ginny let a small smile come to her lips, though she wasn't sure if her brothers were actually proud of her or not.

"That's our girl!" the twins yelled as they pounced and pinned her to the couch, tickling her as she squealed.

Amidst a ball of red hair and laughter Fred piped up, "But you do think of that often. It's quite obvious, what with the drool dripping from the edges of your mouth!"

Ginny smacked him playfully on the collarbone as he and George were leaning on her to keep her pressed to the cushion. Fred faked that he was hurt and that made Ginny giggle again. George gave Fred a knowing nod and they both lunged into her face and kissed her cheeks and forehead.

"Oh Harry!" they mocked as the all laughed, kissing her face relentlessly, "Oh I love you Harry! I just want to snog you all day long!"

Ginny, on the brink of tears from laughing so hard, shoved her brothers aside, jumped and bolted out of the room still laughing, her brothers bellowing her love for Harry behind her. The two of them were buckled over from laughing so hard. They were so proud that their sister was keeping the Weasley spirit alive.

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><p>Ginny ran into the kitchen to where her mother was doing the dishes and her father was researching the muggle object called the rubber duck, still laughing and quite red from the incident with her brothers. Her mother turned with a grin,<p>

"What was all that ruckus about?" she shook her head knowingly, "You're turning out so much like your brothers!"

Ginny just laughed. She wasn't sure whether she should be proud of this fact or not. One thing she knew for sure was that her brothers would give her a little less crap now that they knew she could joke around like one of the boys.

Mrs. Weasley continued on as she turned back to the dishes, "So where's Hermione, dear?"

Ginny stopped laughing immediately and just stared sheepishly at her mother. With this silence, Mrs. Weasley put down the half cleaned bowl, dried her hands and walked over to her daughter. She looked up into her mother's deep, concerned eyes.

"Back up in your room again, I presume?" Ginny lowered her head and nodded. "She'll come down in due time, sweetie, don't you worry. You made her feel comfortable enough to come down with encouragement today, maybe soon she'll just leave her books on her own account, knowing that we're all here for her. For now, all we can do is show her."

Ginny gave a small smile and her mother hugged her.

"So _that's_ what they're used for!" exclaimed Mr. Wealsey from the corner of the room, acquiring quizzical glances from his wife and daughter.

"Oh... um... Sorry. Mother-daughter bonding time. I see! I'll just... go to the dining room..." he continued as he left the kitchen.

"Boys! I found out the use of the so-called rubber duck! Come here and I'll show you! It's absolutely fascinating!"

Ginny and Mrs. Weasley chuckled at his enthusiasm quietly. Her mother gave her one last squeeze and sent her off to find Hermione again.

"That's great dad!" called Fred to his father after he was finished explanation.

"Yeah! We certainly would not be able to live our lives without the wonderful history of the rubber duck hammered into our skulls!" George said with a sneer.

Mr. Weasley's smile started to waver, but then his face brightened with a huge goofy grin, "I knew you boys enjoyed it! See Molly," he called over his shoulder as he walked into the kitchen "I knew I'd be able to understand my boys one day!"

The twins looked at each other and mouthed the word "Sure" while shaking their heads before clambering up the stairs to their room.

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><p>As they both flung themselves to be first in their room, they toppled in through the doorway. Laughing, they helped pull themselves up and they made for their beds. A little while after they got themselves comfortable, George researching some ingredient side-effects for their new product, the Gabbing Gum – gum that makes it impossible for a person to stop talking for at least an hour for every two minutes you chew, and Fred just laying on his bed staring at the ceiling, Fred broke the silence,<p>

"Do you think Hermione's okay, George?" Fred was now playing with his thumbs nervously.

George looked up from his book, a nasty gleam playing in his eyes gone unnoticed by his brother.

"She's been through a lot, Freddie. Hell, we all have. So I doubt she's doing well, but she sure is doing better than before." He took a side glance at his brother to notice him breath out a small sigh of relief.

"Why? You want to help her in some way?" continued George, with a bit of playfulness in his eyes. Surely he suspected his brother fancied the little, bushy-haired witch, but he was only suggesting to help her by getting her some soup or finding Luna for company, he did not expect the tops of Fred's ears to turn slightly pink.

Fred could feel his body going warm. _Oh shit! Don't let George put the pieces together! I don't want him to know! I need to calm down! Don't turn red! Do not turn red!_

Too late, he saw his brother out of the corner of his eye sit up and turn towards him with a knowing smile playing on his face.

"Oh... um.. I don't know... I mean, she has Ginny right! She doesn't need much more help than a servant 24/7!" Fred squeaked out with a tight laugh.

He met Georges unflinching, all-knowing eyes after a moment.

George smiled with a slightly evil grin, "Freddie, would you like to tell me something?" he said as he got up and pulled a chair up to sit in front of his brother.

Fred just turned redder, exhaled and nodded.

This was going to be a long night.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_

_PS: Gabbing Gum was invented by Wizards-Pupil! The credit goes to her! I may use other items that she has invented because I like them a lot, but I will make sure that she gets credit where credit's due** :)_


	3. Lemon Creams and Chai Tea

**Chapter 3: Lemon Creams and Chai Tea**

****Author's Note: I do _not_ own the rights to this. The rights to Harry Potter are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling! **  
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><p>Ginny crept up the last few stairs to her room and slowly opened the door. There was Hermione: her hair in even more of a mess, the sheets in a tangle, dry tear streaks lined her face. Ginny knew what this meant: she had had a nightmare. She tiptoed back out through the open door and closed it with the slightest *click*, then ran down the stairs, skipping two at a time, to fix her friend some nice, calming Chai tea.<p>

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><p>"Well?" said George on the edge of his seat after waiting for his brother to start speaking for the past ten minutes.<p>

Fred fidgeted, still avoiding eye contact as much as possible. He loved his brother but they had the same mind; George would never let him away with this after he had to put up with Fred teasing him about Angelina.

George sat there, his eyes burrowing away into Fred's head, while a smile was looming on his face, telling Fred that he knew more than he hoped.

George realized that his brother wasn't breaking any time soon, so he knew he had to get straight to the point. He leaned back in his chair with a relaxed posture, his mind going over the many possibilities on how to initiate this soon-to-be awkward conversation. Fred's eyes finally met George's and he took that as his cue.

"So, how long have you liked our little brainiac?" George said with an even bigger smile. He could not wait to get the details about his brother. He always found it weird that he never took much interest in any of the girls around Hogwarts, when so many of them were practically throwing themselves at him.

Fred adjusted his seating position, but remained quiet.

"Come on, Forge! We've started this awkward conversation, it's just as well continue it! You know it will only get worse if you don't!" He knew that this would get Fred talking; he hated awkwardness!

He exhaled and whispered, "Since her third year, our fifth..."

George nodded as he crossed his arms, having a difficult time keeping his anticipation and excitement under control, and egged his twin to continue on.

Fred sighed and straightened himself up a bit more before continuing, "If you can't remember, that was the year that she started visiting our house more often. Ron had started to accept that her many quirks were just a way of life and that he could actually stand her, so she visited with Harry a few times a week. One day we were all walking through the woods and my arm brushed against hers. Just the littlest thing made my stomach feel as if it was doing back flips! Though I doubt she felt anything, neither literally nor figuratively because it was just the slightest of touches. Although, back then, I thought nothing of it either. Especially since you and I both knew that Ron was starting showing signs of fancying her himself. It was in our sixth year that I knew I was a goner; we were boasting about how we had worked so hard at creating a way of getting past Dumbledore's spell so we could put our names in the Goblet to be picked as part of the Triwizard Tournament, when Hermione voiced that she doubted it would work. We went over and sat on either side of her to tell her our plan. While you started telling her of our brilliant idea, she looked directly into my eyes. Hers were so chocolatey brown I almost drowned in them. On top of that she smelled so sweetly of cherries, vanilla, and new books. I was so close to turning into a mumbling idiot until you pulled me into the conversation. That was when I truly knew that she had me by a string without even realizing it.."

Fred trailed off. He did not want to say much more, though his brother had quite the opposite idea.

George was silent for a moment, just studying his now tomato red brother across from him. Then he got the sudden evil little twinkle in his eye again, but this time Fred noticed. He was quite terrified.

"N'awe!" George said puckering his lips after a slight pause, "That is so cute! Wittle Fweddikins has had a crush on itty bitty frizzy Hermione for four years! Isn't that swe-"

Suddenly George was cut off by a pillow smacking him square in the face.

"Now, now, Freddikins, no need to be violent!" George said laughing as he pulled himself off of the floor after being knocked off the chair, not trying at all to repress himself.

George was expecting a fury of rage from his brother but instead Fred just sat on his bed and looked at his thumbs.

George was in shock, but not for long. Fred pounced on him in a full on tackle.

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><p>Ginny carefully poured the chai tea into a periwinkle mug, and grabbed some lemon creams to go with it. She was going to make Hermione feel as loved as she could. She tentatively strode down the hallway and up the stairs, careful not to spill a drop. She was about to open her bedroom door she heard a thump from the floor above her, followed by plenty more crashing along with such harsh whispering that they might as well have been talking. <em>Those twins cause enough trouble! <em>Ginny laid the saucer of lemon creams and the tea on the floor next to the door and ran up to her brothers' room. She put her hand on the doorknob when she heard George snicker inside,

"Freddie, you know your little bookworm would hate to see you like this..." and with that came another thump. Ginny burst in to find her brothers in a knot on the floor, wrestling. They both popped up at the sight of her.

"Hey, Gin! How's it going?" George said suavely. Fred just wouldn't take his eyes off of his sister, not daring to even twitch his eye towards George.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "George, I don't have time for your bullshit. Hermione is downstairs sleeping and we don't want to wake her!" Fred's ears somehow turned redder.

Obviously Ginny noticed this and was onto him in a flash. She closed the door behind her so as to not be heard by the rest of their family.

George looked at Fred as Ginny's back was turned and winked with a sideways smile. Fred let out an exaggerated sigh and shrugged his shoulders as he went to sit on his bed and watch his secrets come to life yet again.

Ginny looked even more excited than George to hear news that Fred actually fancied someone. "So, spill it," she said looking back and forth between the twins, "who is it?" Ginny was jumping up and down in her spot.

George looked at Fred who nodded. George was about to start when Ginny cut him off.

"I'm sorry George, but I want to hear it from Fred. You'll either over or under exaggerate the story if you tell it. Go on Fred." Ginny said smiling and promptly taking a seat on the floor at his feet.

Fred sighed, he could feel his cheeks going even more red, but decided to tell Ginny anyway. Though he made sure he told them that they were to keep it between them three.

After he retold the story, Ginny had goose bumps. It was one of the sweetest things that she has heard in the longest time!

"...But please, don't tell anyone else!" begged Fred, "Gin, you know as well as I do how much pain George is going to give me over this!"

"Hey!" intervened George, smiling at his siblings, "I'm going to handle this in a mature manner! I'm only going to tease you when Hermione isn't around! I love her like a sister, but not enough to tease her, especially not when she's in this state of mind!"

Ginny was actually proud of George as she knew that this was the best she was going to get from him.

"And besides" George continued softly, "I can tell how much you care about her."

Fred raised an eyebrow, "How?"

"Well dear Freddie, you've been calling me George! You only call me that when you are deeply worried or concerned about something, otherwise you call me Gred!"

Fred was in awe of his twin; he sat with his mouth gaping.

"I know you Forge. That's all there is to it!"

Fred let the silence envelop them for a moment.

A small smile came to his lips, "Thanks Gred."

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><p>Hermione rolled over to find a steaming hot cup of chai tea resting on her bedside table, along with a half a plate of lemon creams. She looked over at the twin bed across the room to see Ginny sitting on it reading, she hadn't noticed Hermione wake up yet.<p>

"Hi Ginny!" Hermione groaned as she stretched, "Did you bring these up for me?"

Ginny put down her book and smiled, "Yeah, I noticed the tears on your face when I came up to check on you, so I guessed that you had another nightmare..." Hermione nodded.

"Thanks, Gin." she said as she crossed the room to give her best friend a hug.

Ginny accepted her embrace, and Hermione settled herself next to her with the lemon creams and tea.

"... Was it of the war again?" Asked Ginny gingerly. Hermione nodded.

After a moment of silence, Hermione attempted to lighten the mood a little,

"Would you like some?" offered Hermione gesturing at the plate in her hand.

Ginny chuckled, "Well, I already helped myself to half of the plate while you were sleeping, but one more couldn't hurt!"

Hermione laughed and held up the plate. Ginny took a lemon cream and bit into it.

"I'm glad I have you Ginny." Hermione whispered softly as she sipped her tea.

Ginny swallowed, "I'll always be here for you, Mione." They both smiled, "And the rest of my family is, and always will be, as well." She hugged her troubled friend. "We all love you."

Ginny couldn't help but think how true that statement was after talking with her brothers and knowing just how truly smitten Ron is with her.

Hermione hugged her back and finished off her tea, leaving a lemon cream and a half on the plate. She glided back to her bed, "Goodnight Gin!" she said with a tender smile as she crawled under the sheets.

Ginny smiled back, "Goodnight Mione."

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_


	4. A Good Start

**Chapter 4: A Good Start**

****Author's Note: I do _not_ own the rights to this. The rights to Harry Potter are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling! **  
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><p>Fred squirmed to find the end of his sheets and a breath of air after tossing and turning all night. <em>Man, I hope George is serious!<em> he thought as he squinted through the blinding sunlight towards his mirror-image in the bed opposite him. He stretched and planted his feet to the floor, George rolled over.

"How ya doin' lovey?" George said as he propped his head onto his hand, flashing his brother a goofy smile.

"I'm fine..."

Fred attempted to act casual, but George would not take his eyes off of him.

"... Are you actually going to keep your word and not tease me?" Fred sputtered out quickly.

George sat up and threw a hand over his heart,

"Freddie! You don't believe me? My own brother! Oh cruel world have mercy!" he faked a faint and plopped back onto his pillow, then shot up again.

"I didn't say such a thing anyway!" he said as he wagged his finger towards Fred.

He was just about to open his mouth when George cut him off,

"I said I wouldn't tease you around Herm- I mean: _your dearly beloved_!" he teased, "but in private, I have all the liberty to do and say what I please!" he finished as he waggled his eyebrows playfully.

Fred scowled at him as he turned red and was about to retaliate when a little redhead burst into their room.

"It's ... Hermione!" Ginny said wide-eyed and gasping for air, looking back and forth between her brothers.

Fred shot up and ran downstairs only hearing Ginny begin to say "wait" but not wanting anything to happen to Hermione in the precious moments he had.

Ginny turned to George, equally in shock but not moving.

Ginny continued, "... She went downstairs for breakfast before I did..."

George's eyes grew even bigger,

"So I'm guessing she's feeling better?" he said, a smile playing on his lips.

"Oh yes! Now, I wonder what she's going to be like after seeing Fred..." Now the both of them were smiling evil and playful grins

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><p>Hermione woke up to an old, brownish-grey owl tapping at her window pane. She ran as quickly and as quietly as she could to let the bird in without waking Ginny. She untied the note from it's leg and gave it a corner of one of her last lemons creams on her plate, smoothed down its head and it took off again. She closed the window tightly, sat down on her bed and unrolled the parchment; it was from Neville.<p>

_Hello Hermione,_

_I'm not used to writing letters, I only had to write some to my Gran when we were at school and you even helped me with the most of them! I just wanted to let you know that I'm doing much better; Luna and I have been seeing each other more often! Since it was your plan to get us together I thought I should let you know! Gran is doing well also. She loves my greenhouse that I have set up, though she doesn't like when some of my plants go bonkers when I'm not home! Other than that, all's going smoothly._

_Your sister sent me an owl telling me of how upset you are nowadays, and I want you to know that I'm here for you, always! Don't ever forget that! If I hear you've forgotten, I'll be sending my remembrall to you straight away! (if I can remember where I put it...) I also want you to know that it _does_ get better, you just have to push yourself and try and make it feel like it's getting better. Take my word for it, it works!_

_Your my best friend, Hermione! If you ever feel sad or lonely, write to me! I'll even see if Gran'll let me take a trip over in the next few months! It would be great to see you again! Especially if you're smiling!_

_Take care of yourself, y'hear!_

_Love,_

_ Neville _

Hermione beamed at the letter. She hadn't heard from Neville since the war! It was really nice to see that he was doing so well, and that gave her the motivation to try and put her life and emotions back in order!

She pulled herself out of bed and used a summoning charm to get her best shirt and her pencil skirt. She put them on and charmed her hair to be more manageable so that she could put it in a ponytail. Her hair was a bit singed from the fire from the war, so it all wouldn't go into the elastic; leaving strands to hang on the sides of her face. Before she left, she tidied her side of the room and gathered her plates, closing the door gently behind her.

Thinking of the happiness Neville gave her, she skipped down the hallway and into the kitchen where she bumped into Mrs. Weasley and Charlie.

They looked at each other with puzzled, but happy expressions,

"Well good morning dear!" said Mrs. Weasley, perking up even more with each syllable. Charlie nodded his head towards her.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley!" Hermione sang as she pranced towards Molly and planted a small peck on her cheek, nodding in return to Charlie.

"Oh, let me take those dishes sweetheart!" Mrs. Weasley said as she took the plate and mug from Hermione's hands and beamed, "And take a seat! It's not everyday that you're down for breakfast!"

Hermione smiled at her as she took a seat across from Charlie.

"Pancakes for the both of you?" Mrs. Weasley asked over her shoulder, already preparing them on the stove with her wand.

"Yes please." the two at the table said at once.

After all of them got over the shock of Hermione being there, her and Charlie started a lengthy discussion about Charlie's speciality: dragons.

Hermione found every word of it fascinating. With her new found perspective, everything that was happening seemed intriguing.

Mrs. Weasley laid a steaming plate of pancakes in between them and took her spot at the top of the table. They all dug in and, in between bites, she joined the conversation with her own stories.

Hermione had just poured the pure maple syrup onto her third pancake when she heard thumping coming from down the hallway.

They all just stared at the doorway until they saw a tall redhead appear in the entrance.

Hermione could not believe what she was seeing.

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><p>Fred dashed down to the floor below his and threw open Ginny's bedroom door to find Hermione's bed neatly made with a fresh pair of pyjamas on the foot of it, while Ginny's was a mess in the other corner.<p>

_Oh no!_ thought Fred, _Where is she?_

He bolted down the few last flights of stairs and into the living room, then into the dining room with no sign of her.

"Mum! MUM!" cried Fred, almost on the verge of tears, "Where's Her-"

He stopped dead in his tracks; there, sitting at the kitchen table with his mother and brother Charlie was Hermione. She looked beautiful; her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, with little strands hanging loose outlining her face. She had a gorgeous blue top on that seemed like it would be too fancy to wear to breakfast but Fred didn't care because it made her look all the more stunning, which is extremely difficult as he thought she couldn't look any better. He guessed that seeing her as herself and not as a wreck just made her look even more beautiful.

Fred had to take a second to catch his breath and stabilize his thoughts before he realized that she was trying to hide a chuckle; her adorable little laugh that made her nose scrunch, which made it that much harder for him to get a sense of where he was and what he was doing.

Then reality hit. He looked from Hermione, to his mother and his brother, who were also hiding their laughs with big grins as they were shaking their heads, then he looked down at himself: he was completely naked except for his boxers that had the Chudley Cannons's orange all over them.

Fred turned as pink as a pygmy puff, and Hermione's smile illuminated the room.

_Welp, _Fred thought sarcastically as he looked between the others, feeling his face burn, _this was a good start to the morning!_

* * *

><p>Hermione could feel her cheeks start to go pink, though she had no idea why! If it had to have been Ron, she knows she would've outright heaved a lung from laughing so hard, but with Fred it was... different.<p>

She noticed his eyes were right on her, so she covered her mouth in an attempt to draw away from the face that she was reddening even more.

"Is this how you always come down for breakfast, Fred?" she chortled.

In an effort to regain himself, Fred straightened his back and strode a few steps in her direction,

"Why? Do you want me to from now on?" he said as he waggled his eyebrows in an attempt at a charming stance, though his voice cracked at the end.

This made Hermione giggle and fluster.

His mind was racing. _She turned pink! _He thought,_ Why had she turned pink? Was it because she likes me? ... No.. it's probably the fact that I'm in my underwear... _But he held onto the first possibility.

Hermione, on the other hand, could feel her face begin to burn.

She just giggled and smacked his arm playfully and told him to sit down for breakfast. She could not, in any way, understand the way she was feeling!

Just as she passed Fred a plate of pancakes, George and Ginny casually walked in.

George glanced at his almost completely naked brother.

"My eyes!" he yelped, running out of the room, "they burn!"

The whole room broke into laughter.

"Yeah Fred," Ginny said with a snicker as she took her seat next to a roaring Charlie, "have some decency!"

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_


	5. Quidditch

**Chapter 5: Quidditch**

****Author's Note: I do _not_ own the rights to this. The rights to Harry Potter are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling! **  
><strong>

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><p>After George and Ginny returned to the table, Mrs. Weasley had ordered Fred to "have some decency" and go put his clothes on; Hermione thought that he couldn't move faster! Throughout breakfast, when Fred sat down again, the awkwardness settled down and the redness had almost completely drained from Hermione's face, leaving her with slightly pink cheekbones. Mrs. Weasley kept the subject away from the incident with Fred to the best of her ability; talking to Charlie about his dragon training again and pulling everyone else into their conversation one at a time.<p>

Hermione finished last, but was the first of them to get up and put her dishes in the sink. She then crossed over to Molly and gave her a peck on the cheek,

"Thank you for breakfast! It was delicious." she praised.

"Oh you're welcome, m'dear! It's nice to see you out of your room!" Mrs Weasley replied beaming.

Hermione just replied with a little smile, and turned to leave when Ginny spoke up,

"Hermione?"

Hermoine turned back and nodded.

"Fred, George, Harry, and I were planning on playing Quidditch and I was wondering if you could keep score?"

"We were? When-" Fred attempted to stammer, but George kicked him in the knee from across the table. Hermione gave them a questioning look as Fred's face scrunched in pain.

"When are we playing?" Fred managed to squeak.

"Whenever. We hadn't really decided on a time." replied Ginny, turning from her brothers to Hermione, "So are you up for it, Mione?"

Hermione looked from the troublesome two and Ginny, to Charlie to Molly, and everyone had different expressions: Ginny looked hopeful, George looked a little annoyed, Fred looked flustered and in pain, Charlie looked lost, and Mrs Weasley looked, if possible, even more hopeful than Ginny as she had her eyes locked on Hermione, beaming.

She fidgeted for a second before responding, thinking that all she would love to do is to just be back in her room, back to herself again. But then she remembered her promise to herself: that she didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, so after a moment, she nodded and a big grin came to her lips, "Ready any time you are!"

With that she was swarmed in a sea of red, with every Weasley, including a befuddled Charlie, squeezing her in a generous amount of hugs. She was barely able to breath but it was the happiest she's been in a long time.

* * *

><p>"Obviously you won!" cried Fred "You had Mr.I-Have-A-Frigging-Sixth-Sense-So-I-Always-Know-Where-The-Snitch-Is Potter!How are we supposed to compete with that?"<p>

George strutted over to Harry and slapped his back, "Not to mention my good looks!" he chimed as he fluttered his eyelashes and faked a hair flip.

"What does that have anything do to with it?" puzzled Fred

"Nothing, but you just admitted that I'm the better looking twin. Hermione would agree." he said, turning to wink at her. Hermione turned pink and giggled.

"Ahem," intruded Ginny "I thought I did a very good job as Seeker! I almost had it!" turning the conversation back to it's original argument.

"Yeah, yeah. _Almost_ is the key word, love." Fred waved off.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Well Congratulations guys," she continued as she walked over and kissed Harry on the cheek, making both the twins gag. She smirked, "But you do realize that I went easy on you, right?"

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Harry retorted and kissed her on the lips.

"Get a room!" Hermione, Fred and George exclaimed at once.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Fred, and George were in the living room retelling Charlie, Ron, and Mr and Mrs. Weasley about the game.<p>

"And we both saw the snitch and the same time! We both dove, but then I almost crashed so Harry got it instead... but it was very close!" Ginny boasted.

"Yes it was," Harry said as if he was talking to a baby, pulled her closer to him on the couch, kissed her gently on her head, and chuckled "It was a cute try."

She slapped him playfully on the knee, "Shut up!" she squealed as she nuzzled into his side, and laughed.

Hermione had just come to the realization that there was someone missing from the match. "Where have you been for the past few days, Ron?" she asked.

"Oh, Dad and I left early in the morning a few days ago to help Bill and Fleur with their new house." he stated casually as he nodded towards his father.

"Yeah," Mr. Weasley continued, "Beautiful place they've got! Completely gorgeous! You'd love it there, Molly! It's right by the sea!"

"Well, that does sound lovely, but I can't leave this house for a long period of time! Do you know what kind of a mess it would get into if I wasn't right behind it?" Mrs Weasley exclaimed shaking her head.

"I'm not sure if you're going to love me for it, or hate me, but I am definitely taking you there next week! You must see it! If not for the house itself, for your son! He would love to see you." Mr. Weasley knew that she could not turn him down if he played the family card.

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Oh alright, but I'm not allowing everyone of you to stay in this house while I'm gone!" she said, wagging her finger and everyone. She then turned to Hermione, "But, if you don't mind, dear, I would like for you to stay here. I know you can keep up with this house! You help me every day!"

Hermione smiled, "I don't mind at all Mrs Weasley! I could never repay you enough for letting me stay here after everything that happened."

"Oh it's our pleasure, darling! Do you want me to find somewhere for everyone else to go? I mean, I could ship the twins off with Aunt Agnes. She does need help with their cats again... and Harry and Ginny could come help with the house with Ron and Arthur..." she trailed off.

Hermione caught a glimpse of Fred and Georges pleading glances towards her.

"No, no! That's fine!" Hermione intervened, "It's a pretty big house to live in by yourself! Then again, I'd have more time to think and read..." she suggested, with a smirk playing at the edges of her mouth.

"Oh no, dear! You're right, you _should_ have the others here with you!" Mrs Weasley intruded, nodding with exuberance; she did not want for Hermione to return to her depressed state again.

Hermione smiled back at Mrs Weasley and gave a look signifying "You're welcome." to the twins, in which they mouthed, in sync, _thank you!_

"So!" Mrs Weasley shouted, "Who wants to stay?". With that, everyone but Ron raised their hand. Mrs Weasley sighed, and then laughed, "Fine!"

* * *

><p>After a few hours of chatting in the living room, slowly everyone weeded out until it was just Harry, Ginny, George, Fred, and Hermione. Hermione was the only one sitting on a chair; Ginny was sitting with Harry on the love seat with Harry's arm around her, and her feet up, and Fred and George were stretched out on the couch, with their heads on opposite sides, Fred on the inside and George on the outside, almost falling off. She just watched as George fought to stay on as Fred tried playfully to kick him off.<p>

When they finally settled down Fred pipped up, "So, you're going to have to put up with us for three days next week? Mu-ah-ha-ha!" he said as he rubbed his hands together manically.

"You better behave yourself, or I'll send you to your room!" Hermione cautioned playfully with a wink, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Or you'll just have to punish me..." he retorted, looking artificially innocent, then raising one eyebrow suggestively and smirking.

Hermione turned pink, "Oh ha-ha." she giggled, "Very funny! Anyway..." she continued, changing the subject, "I found out where Luna went!"

"Oh! Is she alright?" Ginny said with a worried tone.

"Oh yeah, she's fine! Her and Neville are seeing each other now, so she's over there." Hermione grinned.

"I'm so happy for her! I'm glad she found someone she likes!" Harry said with a sideways smile.

"Yeah, me too." Ginny agreed, snuggling closer to Harry.

"Yeah, I also like how much happier she makes Neville! It's adorable!" Hermione said, still smiling.

Everyone in the room smiled and nodded in agreement.

* * *

><p>Around midnight, Fred and George fell onto their beds and heaved a sigh.<p>

"That was fun today, wasn't it Georgie?" Fred stated as he rolled his head to smile at his twin across the room.

"Yeah..." George said in thought, "You tried way too hard to impress Mione outside today. _That_, my dear brother," he continued, pointing a finger at Fred "is the reason your team lost."

Fred froze for a moment. "... Was it _that_ obvious?" he asked sitting up, fiddling with his thumbs again.

"Calm down, young grasshopper! Only I, the intelligent and more handsome twin, would've noticed it." he expressed, waggling his eyebrows as he complimented himself once again, "Also, I didn't have much to do since I was with Harry, and he is the king of Quidditch, and you were off doing your flips and kicks in the air, so I just sat back and watched the show." he finished, smirking.

Fred tried to grin back but could not do it justice as he was reviewing the game in his head. Though, all he could remember was Hermione catching his eye, to which he almost fell off of his broom, making her giggle. Fred then could not wipe the goofy smile off of his face when he thought of her beautiful laugh. He fell back onto his bed and sighed.

George gave him a quizzical look, but then rolled over and mumbled, "Goodnight, Forge."

"Goodnight, Gred." Fred responded, Hermione's smile still flashing in front of his eyes, and her laugh ringing in his ears. He fell asleep on top of his sheets with a smile still looming on this face.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_

_ps: I'm so sorry this took so long to go up! I have pretty much no inspiration lately, but I'm still going to try to write more often! :)_


	6. Double Trouble

**Chapter 6: Double Trouble**

****Author's Note: I do _not_ own the rights to this. The rights to Harry Potter are owned by the magnificent J.K. Rowling!****

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><p>Hermione woke up with a weird feeling at the pit of her stomach; it was almost to the point of butterflies, but not quite. She kept replaying scenes from the night before in her head; the laughing, the joking, the bonding between everyone. Although, one part of the evening kept repeating itself over and over, as if someone was screaming it in her face and she couldn't get them to shut up. She kept picturing Fred... well she couldn't really explain it without turning pink. <em>It seemed as if he was flirting (?) with me... No! <em>She shook her head slightly in an attempt to rid herself of the memory, _He would never flirt with _Me_. _She thought,_ We're polar opposites! He is the unfathomably attractive and charming troublemaker who doesn't care about grades or sees his own potential, yet had almost all the girls, and some of the guys, swooning over him when he attended Hogwarts, and then there's me: the annoying little workaholic who can't seem to take her nose out of a book! He would never waste his time on me!_

She heaved a sigh trying, once again, to wipe the scene out of her head, and rolled over to see that it was only 9:42am. _No one will be up at this time. Everyone here sleeps until at least noon except Molly and Arthur..._ she thought _ But I am in no way tired..._ After a few moments of pondering her choices of things to do, she decided to take a nice hot shower. She got up, made her bed, pulled on a pair of slippers and quietly exited her and Ginny's shared room, closing their door behind her with the slightest *click*. After checking up and down the stairs to make sure no one was up and about, she made her way up to the twins' floor since it held the closest shower, and she was sure they wouldn't mind her using "their" bathroom. Hermione locked the door behind her and stepped into the hot shower, which smelled of softly pumpkin spice with a lingering subtlety of used gun powder; smelled of Fred. She let the lusciously warm water wash over her as she basked in his smell that enveloped her as the last of her thoughts and worried trickled down the drain.

* * *

><p>Fred was gently woken by the soft pitter patter of, what he thought in his dreamlike state, was rain. He yawned and stretched and realized that it was his shower that he was hearing, not the rain. He looked at the clock: 9:51am. <em>But George would never get up this early... <em>Confirming his thoughts, he glanced at his mirror image tangled in his bed sheets across the room from him. _Nope. Thought not. I don't know anyone who actually get's up at this ungodly hour, besides Mum, on occasion. _He was running through the list of occupants in the Weasley household and their sleep schedules - you pick up on these things when you have attempted to prank every person at least once! - when he heard a faint humming that was getting gently, but increasingly, louder; not too loud to wake the majority of people, but as Fred was a light sleeper out of precaution, it would have awoken him as well as if ten wizards apparated by his ear at once.

He got up, tiptoed over, and pressed his ear to his bedroom door. At first he didn't recognize the tune be then it came to him: it was an old muggle lullaby. Fred only recognized it from when his father got Harry and Hermione to recite some songs that their families listened to when they were younger, so he knew it had to be Hermione._ I mean, it could be Harry,_ he thought, _though, I doubt it's possible for is voice to reach notes that high! _Fred chuckled silently to himself, as not to wake George. Then it hit him: Hermione was only two thin walls, well technically three counting the shower glass, away from him, under steaming hot water... His stomach started to flip and his ears turned pink from just thinking about her in that way. His nerves were so on edge that he hit his head off of the door frame when he heard George roll over.

He propped himself on one hand and looked at his brother, who was rubbing his head in pain.

"She's got a lovely voice, don't she Freddie?" he teased as he bit his lip. "I bet we'd make beautiful music together." He proceeded to make a subtle growling noise under his analyzed his twin, who was turning redder by the second. George didn't know whether it was from annoyance, embarrassment, or both, but he was enjoying it nonetheless.

Fred ran and pounced on his brother.

"Give it up, George!" he whispered fiercely as he wrestled his brother off of his bed, into the middle of their room, and pinned him.

George stopped moving, but then eyed his brother and began, quietly and weakly, moaning "'Mione" teasingly under his breath, all the while smiling and biting his lip, observing the flashes of shock and disturbance crossing his twin's face.

Fred gave him a quick, but hard, punch in the shoulder before he leapt up again.

"How the hell do you have the energy to tease me, especially to this extent, this early in the goddamn morning?" stressed Fred in a sharp but hushed tone.

"Oh brother o' mine," George replied smugly as he eased himself back under the covers of his bed, rubbing his pained shoulder, "I will always find the energy to pester you. Even if we were on our death beds, I'd always make time for you." He winked and finished with a click of his tongue before he rolled over to go back to sleep.

Fred just stared, confounded, at the lump that was his brother. But right before he was about to retort, he heard the water shut off. His stomach started to somersault.

* * *

><p>Hermione rung out her hair and pulled a small towel around it after drying her body off with a bigger one. <em>Shit! I forgot a change of clothes.<em> All she had with her was her night gown, her underwear, and the towel. _Well, there is no way in hell I'm walking through this house with just a towel on! My nighty will have to do! _ She slipped into her oversized t-shirt that Ron had lent her with a sigh, and wiped the steam off of the mirror. Hermione looked at what she was wearing. She actually liked the way that it ended mid-thigh and that the neck came down over one shoulder. Since her and Ron hadn't really spoken much after their kiss, he never asked for his shirt back. _ I don't want to give it back anyway! _She thought, _It's nice and comfortable!_ She smiled and let her hair down from the towel and it fell into wet, but soft, curls.

Hermione smiled at her reflection once more, feeling happy with the way she looked for the first time in ages, gathered her underwear into her towels so that they wouldn't be seen and then started humming quietly to herself again. She couldn't understand why, but she had a feeling that today was going to be a good day!

* * *

><p>Fred calmed himself to get the pinkness out of his cheeks, and then opened the door to wait for her to come out. He positioned himself to be leaning on his door frame with a calm and collected front, even though it felt as if the butterflies in his stomach were trying to escape through is throat. He tried to settle himself some more when he heard the bathroom door unlock.<p>

Hermione emerged and her humming stopped immediately when she locked eyes with him. She looked a bit surprised, looked down at what she was wearing, then back at him and gave him a tiny embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry," she slightly stuttered, the pinkness flowing quickly to her cheeks, "I hope you don't mind me using your shower! Did I wake you?"

Fred just stared at her, dumbfounded. He could not get over how she had developed over the past few years! He could see her curves slightly outlined through the shirt she was wearing; hiding her beautiful hourglass figure underneath. _Wait a second, _he thought, _I've seen that shirt before. _It had the Chudley Cannon's logo across the front which only meant one person could have given her that shirt: his git of a brother, Ron!

"Fred?" Hermione asked in a bit of a worried tone.

Fred snapped out of his thoughts and returned to Hermione.

"Wh-what? Oh! No, no, no! You didn't wake me!" Fred stuttered with a shaky smile.

Hermione giggled and replied in a playful tone, "Then what might you be doing up so early?"

Fred reassembled himself and leaned with one hand against the wall next to his bedroom doorway and one on his hips, blocking her path down the stairs, "Oh you know, just admiring the view..." he flattered with a smirk as he winked at her.

Hermione's cheekbones turned bright red, and she looked away.

"I'll see you at breakfast, Fred." she replied shyly, after a moment, with a small chuckle. She then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at him before nudging him lightheartedly out of her way, returning back to her room.

When she reached her closed door she risked a glance back at him to see he was still watching her. He licked his lips lightly, and when he noticed her looking, gave her one last wink before turning back into his room, closing his door behind him.

Hermione let out the tiniest squeak before tiptoeing back into her room.

As she closed the door and turned around she jumped to see Ginny had run over and was face-to-face with her.

Hermione looked falsely puzzled and Ginny just took her hands, making her drop her towels onto her feet.

"Spill it! I want details!"

* * *

><p>Fred fell onto his bedroom door after he closed it, mesmerized by everything about Hermione; how she looked stunning in that t-shirt, even though it was his brother's, which annoyed the hell out of him. How her gorgeous chocolatey eyes caught his. How she smelled deliciously of her usual: the warm vanilla topped with the smell of new books, but it was now surrounded by his scent, which complemented it in the most beautiful sense.<p>

He hadn't moved from the door for at least three minutes before he came back to reality. George was in his signature pose: propped up on one arm, his palm on his cheekbone, his fingers in his dishevelled orange hair, ready to tease his twin at any moment.

Fred straightened himself but did not, by any means, attempt to hide his pure joy that just rained over him.

Just before George could open his mouth, Fred cut in with a humungous grin on his face, stretching from ear to ear. "Try your worst!" he simply stated, the smile not wavering at all. He laid down on his bed, stretched out, put his hands behind his head and crossed his feet, waiting for a wisecrack from his brother.

When nothing came he glanced over to see George just smirk and give him a knowing nod before getting up and leaving.

Fred stayed there, smiling and replaying his morning over and over, until eleven.

* * *

><p>Hermione's ears began to redden.<p>

"I have no idea what you're talking about." she hastily picked up her towels and flicked them into her laundry basket and strode over to her wardrobe, a small smile intensely tugging at the corners of her lips.

She quickly found the clothes she had planned to wear, a red oversized plaid shirt, a grey camisole, a pair of jeans, a plain purple bra, and a pair of pink-striped underwear, and turned around to go to change when she got surprised yet again from how close Ginny was.

Hermione just smiled at her.

Ginny pressed on, "Seriously. We need to talk. I don't care if you don't want to right now, but soon we will have some girl-time and you will tell me."

"Do I get a say in this?" Hermione chuckled.

"Nope!" Ginny grinned and then skipped out of the room.

Hermione sighed, shook her head and giggled. She strode back to her bed and laid out her clothes, pulled her camisole on over her bra, put on her underwear, and was about to pull on her jeans when she heard a slight tap on the door, followed by the door swinging open and a tall ginger walking in.

He was still looking down when he opened the door, but as he took a step inside he started to lift his head,

"Hey Gin, I-" George caught sight of a bright red Hermione, both frozen for a moment, her in only a moderately low-cut tank top and panties, before she scrambled into her freshly made bed. George was in shock and just stood there stammering and gaping at her while trying to will himself to look away.

"George!" Hermione squealed, throwing a pillow at him, "I'm changing you git! Get out!"

When the pillow hit him, so did reality. His eyes bulged when he realized where he was and bolted out of her room screaming 'Sorry' excessively over his shoulder as he slammed the door behind him and ran down to the living room, where he fell onto the couch, his chest heaving from the rush.

George didn't even realize anyone was in the room until he heard an "Ahem." come from the armchair. He whipped around to see his sister sitting there looking at him with one eyebrow raised,

"Good morning to you too, bro." she said in a jokingly cool manner, "Decided to run a marathon before breakfast, or does it take _that_ much effort to put pants on?"

"Heh. Heh. Heh. Good one, Gin. Very witty. It was definitely the pants." he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Thanks, I try. And obviously you didn't since you're _not_ wearing pants..."

George jumped up and looked down at himself: he was shirtless and only in his boxers.

"_Shit!_" he hissed, now pacing back and forth, "Fred's gonna kill me!"

"Uh... Am I missing something? You dress like this every morning..." Ginny looked at him quizzically as he marched in front of her.

He flopped back onto the couch,

"Um, yes! Yes, you missed something huge!" he stressed in a panicked tone.

"George, I really don't want to hear about your disgusting innuendos-" But George cut her off.

"No! I just... I just fuckin' walked in on Hermione!"

It took a second for it to click with Ginny,

"... But... but she was wearing _clothes_, right?... RIGHT?" she pressed.

George now had his head in his hands. He shook his head slowly, not risking to look up at his younger sibling.

"Oooooh! You're in deep shit!" cackled Ginny, leaning back in her chair.

"Piss off! I'm going to get dressed!" He barrelled up the stairs but quietly crept passed Hermione's room and into his room. He prayed that Fred would never find out.

* * *

><p>Hermione's heart was pounding out of her chest. She wanted to curse George into oblivion! It took her several minutes to calm herself before she climbed out of her bed, though she was still shaking a little. She pulled on her shirt and jeans quickly, then took her time making her bed, hoping that if she encountered George again that enough time would have passed so it wouldn't be as awkward. Before she left, she analyzed her outfit in the mirror. She smiled at her reflection and hoped that Fred would like her outfit. <em>When the hell do I care that some guy would like what I'm wearing? When do I even care about what I'm wearing! <em>Even though she could not completely understand her change of mood, she did care, and since she believed that he would like it, she seemed that much happier with her choice.

She tucked a strand behind her ear and exited her room, smiling.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_


	7. A Lot of Firsts

**Chapter 7: A Lot of Firsts**

****Author's Note: Yeah, still not mine.****

* * *

><p>After he crept past Hermione's room, he bolted into his own, slammed the door and flopped on his bed, throwing his palms over his eyes when he landed.<p>

When the door slammed Fred jumped up, still half-asleep.

"Who? What? Where? Huh?" Fred stammered as he stood, holding his head as colours swam in front of his vision, squinting to look at his brother on the other bed.

George froze for a millisecond, thinking that he just blew it, but then recovered himself and used the situation with Hermione to his advantage.

He sat up, stretched, and then strode over to his wardrobe and started flipping through his shirts.

"Oh nothing Freddie-boy. Just go back to sleep!" He added over his shoulder with a sly grin.

Fred quirked his eyebrow, his vision back fully now, "What- no. What the hell are you up to?" he questioned, scratching his head and striding over to his brother, who was acting weirder than usual.

George whipped around, which brought them to be almost nose to nose, holding a blue pinstriped shirt in front of his chest. He stepped back, motioning to the shirt again, "What do you think of this? How about with those jeans?" he continued, pointing to a pile of denim cloth on the floor at the foot of his bed, "Does it say that I can be professional, but still have fun?"

"Yeah, they'd go together quite well I guess- but hey! Don't get off topic!" Fred huffed.

George just winked, turned and picked the jeans off the ground, and flicked them and the shirt at his confused twin.

Fred caught the ensemble at the last second and bundled it in his arms. "What-" was all he could get out before George interrupted him.

"You want to impress the bookworm?" Fred nodded. "Then wear that. You've got a lot to live up to, and I'm not only talking about your better looking twin!" George finished as he sauntered out the door and into the bathroom.

Fred watched him leave and saw him wink to someone out in the hallway before entering the bathroom and closing the door. He crept over and stuck his head out of the doorway to see who was there. There was Hermione on the next landing, a light pink brushed over her cheeks, tucking a straggled curl behind her ear. She didn't look up again before she made her way down the stairs and skipped around the corner, but Fred never took his eyes off her until she was gone.

Fred looked back at the closed door in front of him. _You're such a git.._

* * *

><p>Hermione cleared her head, but her smile would not fade from her face. She bounced down the last few steps, and passed by the sitting room to go to the kitchen for some breakfast. She had almost made it, too, if a female redhead hadn't sped up to block her off.<p>

"Hey, Gin!" Hermione giggled, an eyebrow raised and questioning.

"What's up with George?" Ginny quickly asked, though she had a knowing look on her face which made Hermione flush the slightest of pink again for a split second.

She giggled, "We'll talk about it later, okay? But right now, I am starving and I am just in the mood for some-"

"-Pancakes, anyone?" Hermione jumped as Fred came up behind her and poked her in her side playfully.

"Honestly, Fred! You scared me!" she chuckled and punched him lightly in the shoulder, no escaping the redness in her cheeks. She looked up at him from beneath her long eyelashes, "But, I was just about to say that! So, yes please!"

He half bowed towards the kitchen, "Ladies first.."

Both the girls looked at each other, then at Fred. They both curtsied and giggled "Thank you, sir!"

Ginny let Hermione go first, and when her friend's back was turned to them, Ginny glanced back at her brother who looked quite annoyed that Ginny played along with that act as well as Hermione. He was shaking his head at her, so she just stuck her tongue out and went to join her friend, Fred right on her heels.

"I didn't know you could cook, Fred!" Hermione noted as she turned her seat at the kitchen table around to watch him make breakfast.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, love." He chimed with a wink before turning to the cupboards to prepare the ingredients.

Hermione bit her lip and chortled, "Would you like some help? You don't have to make all of our breakfasts. I can make my own.."

She was right next to Fred and was about to reach for the eggs when he laid his hand on top of her wrist, making her eyes turn to his.

"No, no. I _want_ to, 'Mione." he reassured her, his mouth turned into a sideways grin.

She nodded and smiled, poking that cursed curl behind her ear again with her other hand, "Thanks, Fred."

The two of them hadn't moved for a minute, his hand still resting atop hers, both of them lost in each others' gaze. It was Ginny who broke them apart.

"Chop chop! I haven't got all day! I'm starving over here!" she exclaimed, tapping her foot.

Hermione and Fred both flushed and pulled their hands away, averting their eyes from each other.

Fred guffawed as he scratched his head nervously, turning from Ginny to Hermione and loudly whispering, "Yeah, she can make her own!" making Hermione giggle again and Ginny to stomp over and slap him.

"Hey! You'd better be nice to me! You don't know _what_ I could be putting in your pancakes right now!" he implied.

Ginny rolled her eyes and turned to Hermione, "He actually has a point. How do we know that he's not putting some sort of tester product into our food?" she retorted.

Hermione looked from Ginny to Fred, and searched his face sincerely. She smiled when his eyes met hers, giving her small butterflies, and replied to Ginny without breaking their gaze, "I trust him."

With those words, it was Fred's turn for his stomach to knot.

Ginny just rolled her eyes again and sighed, "Fine. Whatever. 'Mione, we're going to go talk now-" but she couldn't finish her sentence as she was enveloped by Harry's arms.

She couldn't help but chuckle as she turned around in his arms and kissed his nose.

"Good morning, lamb!" Harry whispered as he snuck in a proper kiss on her pink lips.

"Hmm!" Ginny hummed, "I could get used to mornings like this!"

"Me too," Harry winked as he kissed her forehead.

"Well _I_ can't! That's completely disgusting, Gin! You're my sister for Merlin's sake! Now, get a room before I start to vomit!" interrupted Fred.

Ginny turned back to Fred and was about to retort when Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back next to him, "No, that's fine, Gin! I don't mind!" he said with a smirk, making Fred gag.

Ginny sighed, "Fine. Hermione, could you call out to us when breakfast is finished?" she enquired with a smile.

"Who says I'm still cooking you breakfast?" Fred intervened with a smirk, which caused Hermione to punch him in the arm. "_Fine._"

Hermione chuckled, "Yeah, no problem, Gin!"

The two of them watched the couple leave in an award silence.

Hermione sat in her seat again and Fred took this as his queue to start on breakfast. He had just charmed the eggs to break and the milk to pour into the flour when Hermione piped up.

"I feel like a paperweight, Fred. I should be doing something..." she didn't really know how to act without a book near by to open and to get sucked into.

Fred charmed the whisk to mix the ingredients and turned back, walked over and sat down in the chair next to her,

"We could just talk. There's no need for any more help." he said with a smile.

"Oh right!" Hermione exclaimed, "You use magic to cook anyways! I always seem to forget that.."

Fred was in amused shock, "_The_ Hermione Granger actually _forget_ something! I think I'm the first of our history to hear of such a thing!"

Hermione laughed shaking her head, her curls bouncing with every breath, "Stop it, Fred!" she giggled, "I'm muggle-born, remember? And I don't know everything, believe it or not!"

"Wow!" Fred joked, "So many firsts here today!"

Fred conjured over the finished pancakes, the butter, the maple syrup, and the strawberries. He put two pancakes on Hermione's plate and two on his own before placing the big plate in the middle of the table.

Hermione called out to Ginny to let her know that breakfast was ready, and a minute later her and Harry bustled in.

"Smells delicious, Fred!" complimented Harry as he sat next to Ginny on the opposite side of the table, as to subtly give Fred and Hermione some time by themselves.

"Thank you oh-chosen one. T'is an honour for you to be eating a meal I have prepared." Fred said with a wink.

Everyone at the table laughed. Ginny and Harry started up a conversation of their own, leaving Fred and Hermione to enjoy their meal by themselves.

Hermione inhaled the sweet smell as she reached for the syrup. As she was drizzling it over her food she returned to their prior conversation,

"Not _that_ many firsts. I mean, I guess it is for you, but I know that I have a lot of flaws that no one takes into account. I'm just known for being "The Brightest Witch of her Age". No one thinks I'm supposed to have flaws." she stated as she handed the bottle to Fred.

He took it but didn't use it straight away. He looked at her sincerely, "Everyone has flaws, 'Mione, but that's what makes them special," he smiled, receiving a small smile in return. When Hermione turned back to start cutting her pancakes, he continued on, "And I wasn't only talking about that;" this grabbed her attention again. "This is the first time I've made breakfast without anyone's help or someone looking over my shoulder, the first time that Ginny has actually left me alone when I told her to, and the first time I spent such lovely morning with such a lovely witch." he finished by flashing her a goofy smile and then turning back to pour the sweet liquid on to his meal.

Hermione was speechless. She couldn't stop blushing that morning and right then was no exception. She took a bite into her food as an excuse not to respond, and moaned when the deliciousness soaked over her tongue.

"Mm! This is scrumptious, Fred! Did you add anything extra?" she looked at him expectantly.

He nodded with a grin, "Can you guess what it is?"

Hermione licked her lips, trying to decipher the taste. She took another bite, "Hmm.. I know that there's pumpkin spice.."

"Mm hmm.."

"And... vanilla?"

Fred put down his cutlery and clapped jokingly. He laughed, "Yup. The perfect combination."

Hermione smiled, "Agreed."

After breakfast was finished, Fred, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were all just hanging out in the sitting room, chatting about everything and nothing at the same time. Hermione enjoyed the fact that she was so comfortable around everyone in the Weasley household, even Fred, she only found it awkward when they were alone.

Harry and Ginny were sitting on the love seat, Harry's arm around Ginny's waist as she sat sideways on his lap; Hermione sat alone on the couch, and Fred sat on the rocking chair. Fred and Harry were talking about the latest World Quidditch Tournament highlights with the girls listening in contently, when another tall redhead came bounding down the stairs and jumped onto the couch without checking to see if there was anyone on it first.

"George!" Hermione half-screamed as the twin almost landed on her.

"Op! Sorry, love. Didn't see you there!" greeted George as he put his arm on the back of the couch where she was sitting.

Hermione just chuckled and shook her head. "Honestly," she jested as she pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head onto his arm.

Hermione didn't believe that she had any feelings towards George as she does Fred. She could see them being very good friends in the future, though, as he was nice to get along with and, like his brother, always made her smile. She let the morning's incident slide, and hoped that he wasn't dwelling on it – and by the way that he didn't mind being next to her on the couch, she didn't think he was.

"Fred, are you alright?" Hermione asked as Fred made elaborated faces towards his brother, as if to convey a message.

He stopped and smiled, "Oh yeah, sorry, completely fine." She just nodded warily towards him with a small smile. As she looked over to see if she could join Ginny and Harry's conversation, George gave Fred a wink with a sideways grin. Fred just scowled back, but quickly regained his happy facade as to not acquire more questions. Instead he just admired how Hermione's brown curls bounced when she laughed, how her cheekbones went slightly red when she was defending something, and how beautiful her smile was. He thought of earlier, when he made the subtle reference to how his normal scent of pumpkin went beautifully with her scent of vanilla, and wondered if she caught the hint.

He pushed the thought away before some doubt could move into his mind, and he yelled out to George,

"Georgie, old boy, I was just thinking: we haven't pranked anyone in practically forever! We need to get back on top of things!" Fred said, mischievously smiling at his twin who returned it as a mirror image.

"I think you're right Freddie. What do you think: Ronnikins when he comes home?" he chuckled.

"I think you're on to something." Fred laughed in a way that showed that they couldn't possibly be up to any good.

The boys got into a deep discussion as they planned out their newest prank to-be, and Hermione just admired them from next to George. She loved watching how their minds worked. She never admitted it to them, but she found them to both be so intelligent to be able to come up with such extravagant pranks and such detailed products for their shops. She loved the look in their eyes when a plan of theirs works out; when they seem to proud of their work. She watched as they enveloped themselves with their plan to prank their younger brother and couldn't help but notice how adorably Fred's eyes shone with glee when his brother agreed to his idea, how big his smile became when the pieces started to fall into place, and how he ran his hand through his bright orange hair when they didn't. And then she recalled that time around breakfast, when he mentioned that pumpkin and vanilla went together so well, and she hoped that he didn't only mean in the pancakes.

_Don't be silly Hermione, _she thought_, you don't want to get your hopes up for something that will never happen._

She let out a small sigh and Fred worriedly looked up. She gave a small smile to show that she was fine, but he didn't believe it completely.

"Hey, do you want to help us out?" Fred suggested, that mischievous grin plastered onto his face again.

Hermione was caught off guard, "I-uh-wh-" she stuttered.

George interjected, "Yeah! Our skill,"

"Combined with your brains,"

"Why, we could,"

"Rule the world!" the twins ended together, smiling expectantly at Hermione.

She looked back and forth at them and settled on Fred's eyes. A huge smile came to her face,

"Where do we start?"

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestionscomments on what I just incorporate into the following chapters please inform me! I'll be glad to hear your thoughts!_

_ps: Note to Kayle who reviewed my last chapter:_

_Yeah, sorry about that, it's a very subtle part that says "Ginny skipped out the door", so it's completely understandable how you were confused! I am sorry about that! I'll try and make things like that a bit more obvious next time! :)_

_pps: Two of my friends are writing their own Fremione fanfiction, and you should check them out!_

_* thattosser-harrypotter - Cherry Blossoms_

_* potterfreak62 - Story of Him_

_Check them out! They're amazing girls and their stories are so good so far! :D_


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